they get past the guns at vicksburg and that enables grant to come south of vicksburg and make his run across mississippi. nobody in vicksburg expects that and the townspeople aren't even aware of it because the rumors that are flying through the confederate army is that grant is leaving. they are retreating. the gaming controls new orleans. admiral harrigan has already captured so the reason you see across the river on the louisiana side in the seabees union troops marching south. the reason you see that, they are leaving. they're running away. the people convince themselves of that. they had no reason to leave vicksburg. after the battle of the big black river when they union gunboats upriver begin shelling the town of vicksburg all day and all night and suddenly all that wonderful confederate army that goes out to meet ulysses grant are going to shove grand right out of mississippi. they come pouring back into those earthworks. suddenly this citizens of vicksburg realize their armies right here. now the artillery shells are coming into town from the other direction from and land. th

ready to attack vicksburg. these two reporters, junius and albert, got on a barge that was going down the mississippi filled with bales of hay for grant's horses. the barge set out at night, so the confederates wouldn't see it. but, unfortunately, it was a night with a full moon, and it was really quite visible, and the confederates fired cannons at it. one of the shells hit the barge, exploded, killed about a dozen union soldiers, set the hay on fire, and junius and albert jumped into the river and attempted to float away. but the confederates sut boats and captu th and imprisoned them in various prisons for the next 20 months. and then they escaped from a prison in salisbury, north carolina, and with the help of slaves and pro-union bush whackers walked 300 miles over the appalachians to the union lines. so i read this, which was only about as long as what i've just said, and i thought to myself, wow, that would make a great movie. unfortunately, i don't make movies. but occasionally i do write books. so i th

the victories of gettysburg and vicksburg coming on the anniversary of that self-evident truth have now put the cohorts of those who oppose the declaration that all men are created equal on the run. even newspapers crowed that any escape from our army will be a matter of great difficulty and the newspapers predicted that if lee was pursued and brought today a great if not a decisive victory over the insurgents, it would follow. but a better way to perhaps measure the importance of gettysburg from granting the union a second win would be to consider what the alternative might have been. the prominent boston lawyer and literary lion believe that gettysburg was the turning point in our history. not so much for winning a victory as it was for avoiding a defeat, which would have proven the army of the potomac and the union's last defeat. had he gained that battle, it was written, the democrats would have resumed in would have stopped the war with the city of new york and governor horatio seymour and governor told parker of new jersey and the majority in pennsylvania, they would have had to e

the victories of gettysburg and vicksburg coming on the anniversary of that self-evident truth have now put the cohorts of those who oppose the declaration that all men are created equal on the run. even newspapers crowed that any escape from our army will be a matter of great difficulty and the newspapers predicted that if lee was pursued and brought today a great if not a decisive victory over the insurgents, it would follow. but a better way to perhaps measure the importance of gettysburg from granting the union a second win would be to consider what the alternative might have been. the prominent boston lawyer and literary lion believe that gettysburg was the turning point in our history. not so much for winning a victory as it was for avoiding a defeat, which would have proven the army of the potomac and the union's last defeat. had he gained that battle, it was written, the democrats would have resumed in would have stopped the war with the city of new york and governor horatio seymour and governor told parker of new jersey and the majority in pennsylvania, they would have had to e

gettysburg and vicksburg, he did not pay as much attention to his wife. >> is there speculation that the carriage accident was an assassination attempt? after the election, there was a document to the assassination attempt the pinkerton service saved them from. there was a constant threat on the lives of these people. that stress we should take into account. >> she was living through all of that. it was a horrible time to be in the white house, i would think. >> we are in the midst of a five-year marking of the civil war events. we could not capture all of the tumultuous and significant events, but here are a few of them. 1861, the civil war began. 1863, they issued the emancipation proclamation. and as richard said, the gettysburg address. 1865, the thirteenth amendment abolishing slavery is proposed. and april 9, the court house in virginia, the confederate army surrenders. it bookends the lincoln administration. you mentioned her unannounced visits to military hospitals. >> that goes to the controversy. there is a significant body of evidence that calls into question some of her c

reliving the battles, taking an object off the table and putting it on the floor, this is memphis, vicksburg. imagine being able to see that. that is the informality they lived in with their friends. they hayeses were very moralistic. they tore the billiard room down immediately. host: we also had some video from the white house family dining room. it was told that the grants would gather there for breakfast everyday. what is that room like today? guest: it is very dressy today. it doesn't look anything like it did. it reflects more theodore roosevelt, what theodore roosevelt did during 1902. there was always a clock on the table. you served through a pantry through those doors on the side. dishes were washed there. the family gathered there at this great big table. not every family did. through the door was then a hall and staircase and a big dining room where state occasions were held. in 1902, this room was turned around and incorporated into a dining room. it is the state dining room of today. host: the grant family had four children. were all of them living at the white house? guest: th

after vicksburg and gettysburg everybody thought the north was going to win six-month later. they one in the west and defeated robert e. lee at the height of his powers and then the war drags on. so they bring grant to the willard hotel in washington in march of 1864 and he has this grand vision. i'm going to go to richmond and my most brilliant subordinate has taken over the west. two prongs i will take richmond he will take atlantic and maybe in a month or so. then the unexpected happened. richmond is close to washington and atlantis a lot lung are from tennessee. richmond has good transportation roads. atlantis and the so-called wilderness of the georgia pine woods. grant gets near richmond but then we have these names that even today make a shutter cold harbor, wilderness, spotsylvania , petersburg. if you look at the army that leads in may of 1864 and september almost 80% were killed wounded or missing and the reputation of grant has changed. mary todd lincoln is calling him butcher, a murder. you get the impression that although that's a much more difficult task that he

last page of this novel ends with lincoln's telegram to gren grant con grate lating him on winning at vicksburg and ordering him to bring 3/4 of the corps to his east. lee's got to decide being in number two, how does he continue to put pressure on the north? we think that is a very useful exercise to go through in both thinking about military history, but also political history and diplomatic history. what would have happened with france and britain and there were riots in new york city and elsewhere against the draft after winning at gettysburg on the union side. what might have happened if all the page one headlines had been a union defeat? we think there are a lot of interesting things to explore and examine. our hope is people will be try in and realized how powerful and dynamic kit be and then learning more about the country and coming to places like get tuesdayburg where you see what role and price people paid. let me turn it over to my coauthor and bill and i have formed both a very close friendship but also a professional team work that is a lot of fun as well as pretty creative and pr

reliving the battles, taking an object off the table and putting it on the floor, this is memphis, vicksburg. imagine being able to see that. that is the informality they lived in with their friends. the hayeses were very moralistic. they tore the billiard room down immediately. host: we also had some video from the white house family dining room. it was told that the grants would gather there for breakfast everyday. what is that room like today? guest: it is very dressy today. it doesn't look anything like it did. it reflects more theodore roosevelt, what theodore roosevelt did during 1902. there was always a clock on the table. you served through a pantry through those doors on the side. dishes were washed there. the family gathered there at this great big table. not every family did. through the door was then a hall and staircase and a big dining room where state occasions were held. in 1902, this room was turned around and incorporated into a dining room. it is the state dining room of today. host: the grant family had four children. were all of them living at the white house? guest: the

beginning at 8 eastern with jeff scherr rah on the chain of thunder: a novel of the siege at vicksburg. at 9:05, ishmael beah talks about his second book, "radiance of tomorrow." at 9:20 from booktv in london, a discussion with biographer lee. and at 9:50, khaled40 saneny on "and the mountains echoed." booktv tonight at 8 eastern here on c-span2. >> let's begin with a well known american novelist, one of our best writers, mr. james baldwin. what brought you to the march on washington? >> i could say the fact that i was born a negro in this country. more concretely, i felt there was no way for we not to be involved with what impressed me as being the most significant and most important, most loaded demonstration to free americans that has happened in this country. >> up until very recently, like most americans, i've expressed my support of civil rights largely by talking about it at cocktail parties, i'm afraid. but again, like most many americans this summer, i could no longer pay only lip service to a cause that was so urgently right and in a time that is so urgently now. >> where sun

novel of the siege of vicksburg. >> former u.s. commander in afghanistan, stanley mcchrystal, sat down earlier this summer with former pakistan the ambassador to the u.s., hussain haqqani, to discuss what lies ahead for pakistan when the u.s. withdraws forces from afghanistan next year. this discussion from the annual aspin ideas festival was moderated by "washington post" columnist david ignatius. this is an hour. [applause] >> thank you. somebody said to me once, the only time you really tell the truth is in your novels. so i am afraid. this is a fascinating opportunity for me as a journalist to follows facts and to talk to relieve the two people i would most like to quiz on where the country is going. so i'm really grateful for the opportunity to do that. i want to start with, and a sense, the fundamental question that makes all of us cared deeply and anxiously about pakistan. i summon up with a phrase that many americans use, this is potentially the most dangerous country on earth in terms of the potential risk of nuclear weapo

power carries forward to vicksburg and to the victor story. the expert story, the book is called a chain of thunder. it just came out. this book really surprised me for couple reasons. i knew the history, but a lot of people don't. there's a reason for that. and the reason is going to be illustrated this year more graphically than at any time in recent memory because it's the 150th anniversary. it's also the 150th anniversary of the battle of gettysburg. the reason that is significant, that to happen at the same time. well, today we call them media centers. even in 1863, where was get expert? within 100 miles of washington d.c. in philadelphia and baltimore. not that much further from richmond. that's where all the reporters and photographers are. the expert is in the middle of nowhere. think about 1863. if the middle of nowhere. there are not hordes of newspaper reporters and photographers, certainly not on the confederate side. it gets overlooked. this huge news event. expert, you can make the argument that what happens if expert by opening

>> after vicksburg everybody thought they would win july 1863 it was fabulous they defeated it robert e. lee at the height of his powers and the war drags on but they bring grant to the hotel and he says i will go to richmond and my most billion supporter has taken over the army he will go to the west with two prongs i will take richmond the war will be over maybe a month and then the unexpected happens richmond is close to washington in the land is longer they have good transportation atlanta is in the wilderness of the georgia pine woods. grant kids near richmond cold harbor, a wilderness, petersburg in if you look at the army that leaves may be 1964 or september almost 80 percent is killed or wounded or missing so the reputation and mary todd lincoln calls him a murderer and you get the impression that is a much difficult task to he has done something that is not sustainable politically so now on the left they say that lincoln and should not be nominated all except the new york's times all turned on him and general mclellan comes back on the scene and says i wanted into the my got